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More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, a trend that is rapidly accelerating, especially in developing countries. In the LISA, urban areas are merging into huge megalomania areas, especially along interstate highways. Cities require and use large quantities of energy and materials, metabolize them and generating large quantities of waste products and pollutants, resulting in unsustainable environments that adversely affect ecological integrity and diversity and human health and well-being. The effects of cities on people are to well- understood.
Cities require huge amounts of energy, resulting in large quantities of waste products, causing unsustainable environments. Cities are sources of air, water and soil pollution. Light and noise pollution are now known to adversely affect urban people. The role of urban heat on human health is beginning to emerge. Lack of green space may have psychological effects for urban dwellers. Looking more widely, cities only encompass 2% of the world’s land surface, yet they are responsible for consuming over 75% of the planet’s resources and reduce 75% of the world’s waste.
Many of the cities of tomorrow are more likely to be mega or super cities, with single mega-cities spawning sprawling urban regions representing the largest, most complex manmade structures ever created. For all of these reasons, we view the urban environment as a pressing issue requiring prompt attention. The opportunities are immense, but the problems are acute and the time to deal with them is already upon us. The urban environment therefore demands urgent attention as huge commitments are currently being made or the future in the absence of a coherent urban environmental policy framework.
This is occurring at a time when the majority of the world’s population lives in cities and other urban areas, many of which are already experiencing difficulty in meeting the demand for good air quality, adds Tate water availability, affordable housing and a sense of place. These problems are made all the more critical by the threat posed by climate change. There are two kinds of Environmental Issues that must be dealt with and they are Cumulative & Systemic.
First, Cumulative issues are those that can arise in any human settlement and place, but which can be exacerbated in towns and cities by the agglomeration and density of population and activities. For example, energy consumption in buildings is as much a concern for households and businesses in the Outer Hebrides as it is for those in inner Cities. Then there is a systemic issue which is the unique social, economic and environmental characteristics of urban settlements.
Thus, the urban heat island effect may result n the ambient temperatures of towns and cities being | 0 to ICC higher than those in the surrounding counties with consequent impacts on human health, energy consumption to cool buildings and biodiversity. Patterns of urban living also typically require specific infrastructure such as extensive storm and sewerage systems. They offer different opportunities for Combined Heat and Power (CAP). Green spaces in our towns and cities from parks to gardens and Allotments have many artificial characteristics, but provide important environmental health and social benefits.